Hope — New York Asian Film Festival Review

Na Hong-jin’s fourth feature film, Hope, received polarizing reactions when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The response following the film’s North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival proved to be equally divisive. Some audience members laughed and cheered, but as I exited the theater, I overheard numerous whispers: “What was that?” and “How did that get into Cannes?” Hope feels destined to be a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie, but much to my surprise, I found myself ambivalent, caught somewhere between admiration and frustration.